Skip to main content
A women and a man smiling

Ready for Medicare?

You’ve worked hard all your life, so we want to make sure you enjoy retirement. That’s why we’re giving you helpful information to help you understand Medicare and get the most from your health care plan.

GO TO:

Understanding Medicare and what it covers

Understanding Medicare and what it covers

Medicare is the federal insurance program for people age 65 or older and for some people with certain illnesses or disabilities.

 

Did you know Medicare is made up of four parts? Each one covers various types of care and services. Learn more about the ABCs of Medicare

 

You can apply for Medicare online at ssa.gov, or enroll at your local Social Security office.

 

${company} recommends enrolling in Medicare as early as possible to avoid a delay in the start of your Medicare coverage, which could result in out-of-pocket expenses.

Enrolling in Medicare

Enrolling in Medicare

For most people, the Medicare enrollment period opens three months before they turn 65 and ends three months after their birthday. For example, if your 65th birthday falls in May, you can join Medicare between February and August of that year.  

 

Depending on your situation, you may be automatically enrolled in Original Medicare (Parts A and B).

 

Call us at ${groupPhoneNumber} ${tty}, ${memberhours} or visit  medicare.gov for more detailed enrollment information.

Getting to know the Medicare Advantage plan

Getting to know the Medicare Advantage plan

You deserve a health plan that helps you make the most of retirement. That’s why ${company} and Aetna have teamed up to design a health plan just for you.

 

With Aetna Medicare Advantage, you get:

 

  • Predictable, lower costs than your current plan and a yearly limit on out-of-pocket expenses
  • Original Medicare Parts A and B coverage —  so you’ll continue to pay your Part B premium and your Part D prescription drug coverage will be handled by SilverScript®
  • Services to complement your doctors’ care —  at no extra cost to you
  • Continued access to your doctors — use any provider who accepts Medicare and agrees to accept the Aetna plan before treating you

 

If your doctor isn’t in Aetna’s nationwide network, it’s not usually a problem — you can call us and we’ll be happy to reach out to them for you. You don’t need a referral to see a specialist.

 

To learn more about the Aetna Medicare Advantage plan, call us at ${groupPhoneNumber} ${tty}, ${memberhours}.

New to Medicare- United

 

Welcome. I’m Jason, and I’m so glad you are with us today to talk about this exciting update to our retiree medical insurance. 

 

Your Aetna Medicare Advantage plan offers a simple, local and supportive health care experience to help you achieve your best health — and we’ll show you how in today’s discussion. 

 

We’ll go over the following topics you see here: 

 

  • Some of you may not be familiar with Aetna or Medicare Advantage, so we’ll cover that. 
  • Important information about your plan, how to use it with your doctors and what to expect. 

 

We think you’ll find that your new Aetna Medicare Advantage plan is efficient and easy to use and we’ll show you how. 

 

To better understand the new Aetna Medicare Advantage plan, I want to first give you a quick refresher on how many “traditional” plans work.  

 

When you go see your doctor you show 2 ID cards. One is the red, white and blue Medicare card and the other is your medical card. Then after each plan pays a doctor’s claim, you’ll get at least two Explanations of Benefits. 

 

Now, let’s look at how these pieces are different for Medicare Advantage. 

 

Medicare Advantage offers you the convenience of all off your Medicare A and B benefits — everything you get with original Medicare plus many additional benefits. All in one package. 

 

To be eligible, you have to be enrolled in Parts A and B and pay your Part B premium. You can only be enrolled on one Medicare Advantage plan at a time. 

 

Again, we want things to be easy: 

  • One ID card for all your medical needs 
  • More benefits than Original Medicare with traditional supplemental plans 
  • Care Advocacy and Wellness Benefits that we will discuss shortly 
  • One monthly Explanation of Benefits for medical services. 

 

We know the most important thing for our members when reviewing health plan options is “will my doctor take this plan?”  

 

Let’s review our network details. 

 

Your doctor does not have to be in our network and you get the same benefits in or out of network. The provider must be eligible to receive Medicare payment and accept your plan. 

 

Again, Aetna Medicare Advantage provides coverage nationwide. 

 

It also covers you when you are traveling outside the country in case you have an urgent need for medical care.  

 

When traveling away from home, Aetna will help you find a doctor that accepts the Aetna Medicare Advantage plan. 

 

We encourage everyone to select a primary care physician (PCP), but this is not required. 

 

Your plan is designed to give you the flexibility to see any provider whether or not they are in our network. You should know that many doctors do in fact accept Medicare and accept Aetna Medicare Advantage, but there may be some that don’t. The provider must be eligible to receive Medicare payment and accept your plan. 

 

One of the key differences with the customized Aetna Medicare Advantage plan in your area is that it doesn’t cost you more if your provider isn’t in our network. Your cost share (this includes copays) is the same both in and out of network. 

 

Will my doctors accept my new plan? 

 

First, we’re here today to help you find that out. At any time, you can call us if you have questions about certain doctors or need help finding a new provider. Our representatives are available Monday – Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM all time zones. We have an Aetna Member Services team that is dedicated to employer group members and they will be happy to help you and even call your doctor’s office on your behalf to confirm they will accept our plan. 

 

Let’s take a look at medical benefits. 

 

How much coverage costs is a concern for most everybody. This is a real “bottom line” of what you can expect from Aetna Medicare Advantage. 

 

Let’s review your new benefits. Now these are just some highlights of the various benefits available. 

 

The difference between coinsurance and a copayment is a percentage vs. a flat dollar amount. With coinsurance, you pay a set percentage of the total cost for your portion of the health care service. On the other hand, a copayment is a set dollar amount that you pay for your portion of the cost of the service. 

 

We talked about the simplicity of the plan (one card, keeping your doctors), and we talked about the plan design features. 

 

Now, I’d like to share with you some of the support programs you are going to get with this plan. 

 

We value your total health — physical, emotional and social. We want to help you reach your full potential in life; however you define it. So we want to support you wherever you are on your health journey. 

 

  • For those who want to focus on wellness, we have programs such as Healthy Home Visits and SilverSneakers. 
  • For those who want to prevent health challenges from getting worse, we have programs to help with chronic or complex conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. We also offer on-demand assistance through programs such as our 24-hour Nurse Line. 
  • For those who have complex medical conditions, we offer nurse case management, to help prevent you from being readmitted to the hospital, and compassionate care for advanced illnesses. 

 

All of these are included at no additional cost to you and are intended to complement your current health care; they aren’t meant to replace it. 

 

This Healthy Home Visit is completely voluntary. If you choose to take part, a nurse will come to your home to review your health needs and will do a home safety assessment. The visit doesn’t replace care from your doctors, but we work with them to help meet your health needs. 

  • The nurse focuses on safety in your home, does a medication review, and asks about your medical and family history. 
  • We may recommend any of our support programs that may be helpful for you. We’ll talk about some examples of these programs next. 
  • We communicate the results of your visit with your primary care doctor. 

 

This program is available at no cost to you and will help you take advantage of the benefits available to you. 

 

SilverSneakers® is much more than an exercise program — it’s a way for you to achieve your best health in mind, body and spirit. 

 

You can join a group of like-minded people focused on maintaining good health and independence. 

 

With this program, you get: 

 

  • Signature SilverSneakers classes designed for all fitness levels and led by trained instructors 
  • Access to 15,000+ fitness locations nationwide with the ability to enroll at multiple locations anytime 
  • Social connections through events such as shared meals, holiday celebrations and class socials 
  • Online resources (fitness location directory, articles, SilverSneakers On-Demand and more) 

 

We offer this voluntary program at no extra charge to you. 

 

The Healthy Rewards Program is a highly personalized program designed to increase retiree health participation and satisfaction. 

 

Members are rewarded for engaging in health care activities and receiving all important preventive screenings. 

 

Rewards are provided in the form of gift cards from national and regional merchants. 

 

We offer this voluntary program at no extra charge to you. 

 

And you can see the high overall satisfaction rate with the Aetna Medicare Advantage plans base on our member surveys. We are committed to helping you reach your health care goals — whatever they may be. 

 

So what’s next? 

 

If you are enrolled in our plan for 2020, you will receive: 

  • Plan confirmation letter to confirm your enrollment in the Aetna Medicare Advantage plan 
  • Your single ID card for all of your medical needs 
  • Aetna’s Welcome Kit: 
    • Helpful kit to get the most from your new plan 
    • Includes Evidence of Coverage with plan coverage details 
    • Explains how to get a provider directory or view a list of providers online 

 

We are excited for you to start enjoying your new plan. 

 

Now we’ll discuss the SilverScript plan. SilverScript is a subsidiary or part of CVS Health. 

 

Premiums for individual plans may be lower than premiums for plans under United Airlines, but those individual plans usually provide less coverage. 

 

Individual Medicare Part D plans are not as rich in benefits, when compared to the United Airlines Medicare prescription drug plan. You may especially see the disparity if you take a brand or specialty drug where you’ll likely pay a large amount out of pocket with an individual Medicare Part D plan. In addition, individual Part D plans usually have a coverage gap or “donut-hole” where your out-of-pockets costs can reach $5,000+ in a year. 

 

You can also get 90-day supplies of most medications through United Airlines, which allows you to save money by purchasing larger quantities at once. It is important to note that you do not need to use CVS pharmacies.  The United Airlines pharmacy network is broad and includes larger, commercial retail stores as well as some smaller, locally owned pharmacies. 

 

Most individual Part D plans have a donut hole where after you and the plan have paid a certain amount, your coverage goes down. Your United Airlines Medicare Rx plan protects you from falling in the donut hole because you'd have continuous coverage if you get to this stage. And if you get to the catastrophic stage, your out-of-pocket drug expenses will actually go down.  

 

Joining us soon? Keep an eye out for your Pre-Notification letter and your Welcome Kit. 

 

The Pre-Notification letter will come prior to your enrollment. 

 

You will receive two mailings prior to your effective date in the plan. The first mailing is your Confirmation of Enrollment which also contains your ID Card. The second mailing is the Welcome Kit which contains your Evidence of Coverage, the Abridged Formulary (List of Drugs) and the Pharmacy Directory. 

 

You can only have one Part D plan at a time. If you have Part D coverage when you join SilverScript Employer PDP sponsored by United Airlines, you will be disenrolled from the other plan. 

 

Please feel free to call SilverScript at any time if you have questions about your prescription drug benefit. Thanks, and have a great day!

We're here to help

Call us ${memberhours}.

 

${groupPhoneNumber} ${tty}